DoE opens data analysis center dedicated to industry fuel-cell trials

A Toyota Highlander FCV fills up at the renewable hydrogen fueling station at National Renewable Energy Laboratory facilities in Colorado.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently opened what it describes as a "one-of-a-kind national secure data center" at its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, CO. The National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center (NFCTEC) allows industry, academia, and government organizations to submit and review data gathered from projects to advance cost-effective fuel-cell technology. NFCTEC will also help accelerate the commercialization of fuel-cell technologies by strengthening data collection from fuel-cell systems and components operating under real-world conditions, and analysis of these detailed data that can be compared to technical targets. The NFCTEC is housed within an area of the Energy Systems Integration Facility at NREL, and is specifically designed for the secure management, storage, and processing of proprietary data from industry and other stakeholders. Aggregated analysis results that show the status and progress of the technology, but do not identify individual companies, are available to the public. With support from the DoE, NREL has been performing independent, third-party analysis and validation of proprietary hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies in real-world operation since 2004. To date, NREL has collected and analyzed more than 2 million h of operational data involving the use of more than 450,000 kg (1 million lb) of hydrogen.

The U. S Department of Transportation/NHTSA Vehicle Research and Test Center has commissioned dSPACE to supply an in-lab GPS simulation system. GPS simulation is used in the development and testing of numerous intelligent driving and traffic systems, including collision avoidance, advanced driver-assistance systems, navigation, and V2X communications.

AB Dynamics’ updated suspension parameter measuring machine (SPMM), the SPMM5000, is a fixed ground plane kinetics and compliance test machine that measures suspension parameters and characteristics like the SPMM4000 on which it is based.

One of the subject areas garnering the most attention at the SAE 2014 World Congress is aerodynamics because of its effect on vehicle efficiency through drag reduction and the potential for real-world fuel economy gains.